Dolcetto, meet my BFF fennel.

Fennel, say hello to Dolcetto. I introduced the two the other night at the recommendation of them wine folk I work with. Roasted the hell out of the fennel and some baby eggplant. Threw in some goat cheese and crusty bread for good measure. They all got along famously. It was like they had met before. The fresh and fruity Roagna Dolcetto d’Alba 2007 complemented my savory spread well. It was smooth, maybe even “soft”. Definitely delicious. Of course I googled my new purple friend first to find out whose grapes I was about to get up close and personal with. Enter Luca Roagna. Only two years my senior and the fouth generation of Roagna to run the successful estate. With long roots in the Piedmont region the Roagnas have upheld a very classic and traditional style of Italian winemaking. Luca, if you’re reading this, you rule.

On your mark, get set… Taste!

Questioning how running 26.2 miles and drinking wine go together? Please allow us to explain…

Fact 1: The marathon race commemorates the run of the soldier Pheidippides from a battlefield near Marathon, Greece, to Athens in 490 B.C., bringing news of a Greek victory over the Persians. Wine relevance: The Ancient Greeks pretty much invented wine as we know it today, so I assure you wine was flowing aplenty when this news arrived. Perhaps if someone had gotten a refreshing goblet into the hands of poor Pheidippides fast enough things might have turned out differently for him…